Student mental
health and wellness:
BEST PRACTICES FOR
EDUCATIONAL LEADERS
Mental health
concerns of anxiety,
depression, and
suicidal ideation
are present among
students in low
performing schools,
but the risk factors
are significantly
different within high-
performing schools.
16
Leadership
What is the role of K-12 educational
leaders in addressing the mental health crisis
that is currently sweeping our nation? One
of the most alarming statistics found in cur-
rent literature notes that adolescent suicide
rates have tripled over the past 60 years,
making suicide the second leading cause
of death among young people aged 10-24
(Kruisselbrink, 2013). In a typical high
school in the United States, it is estimated
that three students attempt suicide each year
(The Trevor Project, 2016). With roughly
1,500 high schools in California, protecting
the health and well-being of young people
is an ethical imperative for all professionals
working with students. It is important that
educators consider the role of public services
in addressing mental health, including edu-
cation, prevention and intervention.
The National Institute on Mental Health
(2005) has described mental disorders as
chronic diseases of the young, yet there is a
long delay between the onset of the disor-
der and treatment, with a median delay of a
decade. Thus, it is critical to implement pro-
grams in schools that help students develop
self-efficacy, coping strategies, and mental
health and wellness literacy. K-12 school
enrollment is the one constant in the life of
youth, making it the logical place to imple-
ment a preventative, education-based pro-
gram to address student mental health and
wellness. This type of program would help
students to understand when to ask for help
for themselves or others.
Although we recognize that all students
can suffer from mental health concerns, an
often overlooked group of students in the
research are those from high-performing
school districts, where mental health issues
are often rooted in academic achievement,
demands for excellence and pressure to per-
form. Students within high-performing
school districts often experience a signifi-
cant amount of success, yet along with this
comes tremendous pressure and stress for
students to excel and thrive in all areas of ac-
ademics, athletics and extracurricular activ-
ities. We conducted research in California
By: Dr. Jeremy Meadows and Dr.
Trista Ramirez